Singapore’s foreign direct investment in Myanmar has constituted 29 per cent of overall FDI, pumping in over US$21 billion from 299 existing projects as of 30 April 2024, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration’s statistics showed.
Singapore ranked first in the foreign direct investment inflows to Myanmar, followed by China with 25.9 per cent ($18.89 billion) and Hong Kong SAR with 13.5 per cent ($9.84 billion).
The leading countries with significant investments are Singapore, China, Hong Kong (SAR), the UK, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Viet Nam, Japan, Malaysia and the Netherlands so far.
Singapore-listed companies mainly invest in urban development, real estate, power, and manufacturing sectors.
The power sector made up 27.94 per cent of FDI among the 12 industries, followed by the oil and gas sector, which had 20 per cent, and manufacturing, which had 15.45 per cent.
The FDI flows into power, oil and gas, manufacturing, transport and communications, real estate, hotels and tourism, mining, livestock and fisheries, industrial estate, agriculture, construction and services respectively.
Singapore stood as the largest foreign investor in Myanmar in the previous years, pulling in the FDI of $1.158 billion in the 2022-2023 FY, $297 million in the 2021-2022 mini-budget period (Oct-Mar), $1.85 billion in the FY 2019-2020, $2.4 billion in the FY 2018-2019, $724.4 million in the mini-budget period (April-September, 2018), $2.16 billion in the 2017-2018 FY, $3.8 billion in the 2016-2017 FY, $4.25 billion in the 2015-2016 FY, $4.29 billion in the 2014-2015 FY, $2.3 billion in the 2013-2014 FY and $418 million in the 2012-2013 FY respectively.
Additionally, Singapore emerged as the second largest foreign investor in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone after a top investing Japan.
Next, Myanmar attracted foreign direct investments of $661.6 million in the 2023-2024 financial year (April-March), which showed almost a 60 per cent drop compared with the ($1.64 billion) of 2022-2023 FY (April- March).
The Myanmar Investment Commission greenlit 71 foreign projects from 14 countries in the past FY. Singapore is the top source of FDI, with $345 million. China is placed as the second largest investor in Myanmar, with $225 million.
The power sector topped the FDI line-ups with $374.525 million by the permitted enterprises this FY, without capital expansion by the existing enterprises, followed by the manufacturing industry with $151 million. — KK
